Lifestyle

Faced with the highest rate of homelessness in the nation, Hawai‘i needs new, bold ideas to solve the state’s homeless crisis. One breakthrough vision was inspired by a specific lifestyle with deep roots in Hawai‘i’s history – and one business leader’s personal memories of growing up during that era. It took a public/private partnership unlike any other in the country to make Kahauiki Village a reality.

Join us during our live discussion by phoning in, or leaving us a comment on Facebook or Twitter. INSIGHTS is also live streamed on pbshawaii.org and Facebook Live.

Phone Lines:
462-5000 on Oahu or 800-238-4847 on the Neighbor Islands.

VICTORIAN SLUM HOUSE takes viewers to the British slums of the 1800s, where a group of modern day families, couples and individuals recreate life in London’s East End as their forbearers once lived between 1860-1900. Faced with the virtually impossible task of earning enough money to pay the rent and put food on the table, the participants experience first-hand the tough living and working conditions endured by the millions that made up the urban poor in Victorian Britain. It’s an eye-opening experience for the participants as they each confront the harsh realities of the past and together lay the groundwork for welfare reform in the 20th Century.

The 1890s
Enter the 1890s, when mass manufacturing and social reform offer a bit of hope for some of the residents, while others are plagued by a water shortage that dashes hopes for a promising laundry business.

Observe the social changes the slum dwellers face as they move into the 20th century. A few families prosper, but others continue to face the poverty endemic in Britain. See what steps are finally taken to alleviate the plight of the poor.

VICTORIAN SLUM HOUSE takes viewers to the British slums of the 1800s, where a group of modern day families, couples and individuals recreate life in London’s East End as their forbearers once lived between 1860-1900. Faced with the virtually impossible task of earning enough money to pay the rent and put food on the table, the participants experience first-hand the tough living and working conditions endured by the millions that made up the urban poor in Victorian Britain. It’s an eye-opening experience for the participants as they each confront the harsh realities of the past and together lay the groundwork for welfare reform in the 20th Century.

The 1880s
Despite high unemployment and intolerable conditions, people flock to London, desperate for work. When curious upper-class visitors are permitted to visit the slum as tourists, the participants realize how precarious their situation truly is.

VICTORIAN SLUM HOUSE takes viewers to the British slums of the 1800s, where a group of modern day families, couples and individuals recreate life in London’s East End as their forbearers once lived between 1860-1900. Faced with the virtually impossible task of earning enough money to pay the rent and put food on the table, the participants experience first-hand the tough living and working conditions endured by the millions that made up the urban poor in Victorian Britain. It’s an eye-opening experience for the participants as they each confront the harsh realities of the past and together lay the groundwork for welfare reform in the 20th Century.

The 1870s
Witness a dire economic depression heightened by the arrival of Irish migrants seeking work. Daily, the slum dwellers toil to fulfil clothing orders and make artificial flowers for factories. Some won’t be able to settle their debts.

VICTORIAN SLUM HOUSE takes viewers to the British slums of the 1800s, where a group of modern day families, couples and individuals recreate life in London’s East End as their forbearers once lived between 1860-1900. Faced with the virtually impossible task of earning enough money to pay the rent and put food on the table, the participants experience first-hand the tough living and working conditions endured by the millions that made up the urban poor in Victorian Britain. It’s an eye-opening experience for the participants as they each confront the harsh realities of the past and together lay the groundwork for welfare reform in the 20th Century.

The 1860s
Follow participants as they move into an 1860s tenement made up of sparse rooms, a shared water pump and outdoor privies. They seek to make a living by matchbox making, wood turning and the rag trade, work once done by their impoverished forebears.

Over the course of a momentous year, Kumu Hina, a native Hawaiian mahu (transgender) teacher, inspires a tomboyish young girl to claim her place as leader of an all-male hula troupe, as Kumu Hina herself searches for love and a fulfilling romantic relationship with an unpredictable young Tongan man.

With the wine harvest of 2012 as the backdrop, director John Beck explores the quirks of monastic life at the Abbey of New Clairvaux, north of Chico, California. The faith of the trappist monks is tested as they attempt to make wine in the same scorching climate where Gov. Leland Stanford once planted the largest vineyard in the world in the 1880s. Lifting a veil on the spiritual side of winemaking, “The Monks of Vina” reveals the extreme sacrifice and devotion required in a quest to become closer to God.

There seems to be no end to the rising cost of living in Hawai‘i. The high prices of housing, groceries, gas and other necessities make it more and more difficult for us to live in today’s paradise. But what about our children? If it’s this hard to make ends meet now, what will life in Hawai‘i be like for future generations? Daryl Huff hosts this discussion.